And, that was the problem I got burnt with the, that’s what caused the infection to start with because it opened it, and the, the radiotherapy burnt it quite badly.

And did that start immediately, that you started on the radiotherapy or did that kind of build up as

No towards the end of it and so it was, that was why it was, you know the first bout of it was the summer, basically yeah, it was the end of theI’d finished the treatment when I had the first bout, the infection, about that. Obviously I’d had the infection when I was in hospital and things and stuff, and they dressed it and everything. But the recur the first recurrence was July/August 2009. Cos I remember we were supposed to be going out to lunch ironically with the head of the, the doctor was one of the guests, that one, that house there was the old head doctor, but he’s retired and this lady has taken over and she was going to be a guest at this lunch and I’d had to cry off.. before I went, I’d had to cry off I didn’t have, because I was running round trying to get dressings and things for this, well – what do they call it?… These em, out of hours hospital things, so.

NHS 24 or NHS Direct or…

It wasn’t NHS 24 it was a funny name.

Yeah, yeah.

And they’ve lost the contract now, somebody else has got it now apparently. But so, anyway, to cut again a long story short – that was when it recurred in that July after, at the end of the radiotherapy, which again, I didn’t have any side effect from radiotherapy and I’d taken, taken [name] and she’d not many either, she got a bit tired, but it was just the infection that was it, from the burning, because they did burn it quite badly.

And could they see that that burn was building up as they were, as they were doing it or

No, no.

No.

No I don’t think so, no, no, it was a sort of, well [name] saw it better than I did, wasn’t itit was a sort of third degree burn almost, wasn’t it, you couldn’t.

Up to that point had you been aware of the fact that, I mean obviously you’d been aware of breast cancer from your wife’s experience, but had you been aware that men could have breast cancer?

I had read they could yeah. I read they could yeah. it’s one in sixty or something is it?

I’m not sure the exact figures, I know there’s about three or four hundred men a year in the UK who are diagnosed so
Yeah, yeah.

Cos some of the men we’ve spoken to weren’t aware that they could have breast cancer.

Oh no I did know yeah.

When I was feeling it [lump] every morning when I was in the shower, it never occurred to me that I had cancer certainly, it was only when it hurt that I realised it might be something a bit more serious. But I still didn’t think it was cancer until I saw the GP, and he had me rushed to [name of] Hospital you know in about five or six days I’m thinking oh here we go. But, it didn’t occur to me, I wasn’t, I knew men could get breast cancer, it never occurred to me for one moment that I’d got it, until I was told I’d got it. Well until I went to the GP.

Yeah, why do you think that was? Do you think that’s how we all are in

Why do I think that was? – I don’t know, I don’t know, I, guess it never occurred to me that it could be cancer. I, I remember thinking – I’m going to see a doctor about this lump some time – but then I was going on holiday and I was working and left it another couple of weeks, and then when it hurt I then went pretty soon after I got back, but, it just never occurred to me that it would be cancer.

I was just asking about, you were just saying sort of chosen not to tell many…

Oh yeah as I say, I had to take leave of absence from the rotary club, so I mean obviously they knew, I didn’t.

Because they, they depute somebody to check how you are, don’t make any fuss about it please, just say I’m ill and I can’trdquo; It sort of half got out I think so. But again, by not making a fuss, people just say you alright no and I say ye and that’s it.

Yeah, and that’s howyou just feel much more comfortable with dealing with it that way.

I don’t want any, I don’t want any fuss made whatsoever.

Yeah.

I mean I can’t, I just don’t, as simple as that, and the same as down the pub, because the landlord is also a member of this rotary club, so he knew that I’d just quietly said to, you know the, two or three very good friends, I’ve known 30 years, you know, don’t make a fuss please, just, don’t tell everybody, just if people ask you, you can tell em, but just don’t, generally keep it quiet And then as I say most people don’t know.

One of the things we’ve been asking people is how they feel about, I mean some of the men that I’ve spoken to have been, you know, have wanted to tell us – probably, that they’ve got breast cancer, I think partly cos they’ve been conscious of the fact that it’s perhaps not a very well known disease and some of them have had issues about what it should be called, you know, should it be called male breast cancer, should it be called just breast cancer or chest cancer or whatever
Yeah I can understand, well I just dismissed it, but I can understand. Yeah, I think it would be better from a bloke’s point of view, a male point of view, if it was called chest cancer, I think that, that yeah. it’s a bit embarrassing obviously to say you’ve got what basically, everybody assumes is a female disorder. So yeah I think chest cancer would be a lot better.